Rain,Rain,Rain

Another downpour today.  Rain water flooding the gutters and spraying up through sewer grates.  The spray of puddle water as car speed by.  We are set to make the record, it is the ninth wettest ( after Monday's rain it is now the eighth wetest) May on record for Utah.

With the rain, has come green.  The plants in my mothers garden are green with pink blooms on the bleeding hearts, lupines and cyclamen.  All colors of Iceland poppies add their lovely brightness to the garden, while small blue forget-me-not also add highlights of color.

Looking out my window, I am pleased to see a patch of blue sky amount the cumulus, white, fluffy clouds.  The gray clouds having moved on for a moment or two.  Maybe a break in the rain, rain,rain.

Rain?

We must have had a minor drizzle last night, the road showed signs of rain.  The early morning sun danced through the maple leaves, and lilac scented the breeze.  Mollie and I were out early, a quick walk before the day started.

Yesterday, we visited local nurseries.  Mom purchased more Iceland poppies for the garden, while I found some pea starts.  Peas although not abundant, do fine in the canyon.  And they are such a treat in June when they mature.

Many of the tulips are starting to fade.  They were  cheerful.  I love how their bloom seem to glow in the sunlight.  Their showy splash of color on a long straight green stem surrounded with large blades of leaves that seem to reach and then flop, curving back to the ground.

The sun is now in a dance with intermenent skies of clouds and blue.  The forecast is for rain.

Twilight View of My Mother's Garden

My mother's garden is always lovely.  Tonight, Mollie and I walked through the garden at twilight.  The garden hues subdued into a shaded beauty,  Lavender phlox,  draping blooms of basket of gold, dotted with sky blue forget me nots and spikes of grape hyacinth grow in dark dirt beds rimmed with blue grey dolomitic limestone rocks.  Under a budding spring green box elder tree, it bark supporting a garden of green moss and golden orange lichens, the leaves of white, blue green, and golden varieties of hosta speak through the dirt and uncurl.  Throughout the garden splashes of color, red, yellow, pink, orange and white as fuzzy flower buds open and crepe paper Iceland poppies bloom.

In the back garden, a bed of primroses in yellow, blue, pink, violet, and red share the garden with graceful tulips, yellow with red dust or red veins of flame, bright yellow,  pink and white with pink flames. A path of round stepping stones leads us around our childhood place house to the kitchen door.  The canyon sky has darken, as twilight passes.  Mollie and I enter through the kitchen door to settle for evening, and recall the loveliness of my mother's garden at twilight.

April Showers

After such a dry winter, April showers are visiting Ogden Canyon.  The canyon has turned green.  I understand the science of how rain provides nitrogen, which is necessary for the greening of lawns, and leaves.  But it is also great just to enjoy the beauty created by the coming of April showers.

Carpet of violets.

The lawns of Spring are often filled with a carpet of purple violet that scent the spring breeze with their perfume.

Early Spring

The apricots and other flowering  trees are in bloom,  a month earlier than last year.   We had such a warm winter this year,  with only a couple of snow storms.

Unusual Winter

This has been an unusual winter.  Only two snow storm, and temperature mostly above normal.  We are all wondering if the Spring will bring rain showers to provide water to the needed reserves?  Or will Mother Nature now hit us with Spring snows?

Mourning Song

Oh, the trills and chirps of the avian mourning song have returned.  I heard the first notes on Saturday mourning, a sure sign that Spring has returned.

Lunch in the company of an artist

Saturday,  My mother and I visited a friend, an artist -Terry C Johnson.  We went to lunch at Farmington Station at the Twigs restaurant.  I can recommend the roasted beet and pear salad.  My mother enjoyed the Ceasar with pecan salad.

We then shopped for a while.

After a little more conversation, I collected Terry's art for the art center's art auction.

Surrounded by Artists

I am always surrounded by artists.  Of course you are, you will say after I remind you that I work at an Art Center.  The month of February is always filled with artists.  It is the month that we collect work for our annual fundraising event- an Art auction.

It is almost as fun as Christmas to see the artist and the new works they bring in.  I enjoy my job and enjoy talking with these artists and I always am hopeful that we will sell their work.  The Art Center takes a commission on all works sold through the auction.

And of course, I work with artists.  The director was an award winning floral designer before he came to the center.  The curator of education is working on a master's degree in arts education.  The other day while teaching a printmaking class to teenagers, she created and printed a mermaid which she shared with me.  The newest employee is my niece.  She is a talented clay artist like her mother.  She gave us all small clay sculptures for Valentine's Day.

It is so fun to be always surrounded by artists, I recommend it.

To learn more about the Eccles Community Art Center please visit: www.ogden4arts.org

New calendar

A Christmas gift, a 2015 calendar, fresh, crisp, blank just waiting to be filled with new adventures.  I hope you have your 2015 calendar, crisp and blank ready to fill with your own adventures.  Happy New Year!

Visiting birds

As it has been cold and the ground covered with snow, the birds have been visiting our sunflower seed filled feeder.  We have seen chickadees, nuthatches, finches, and pine siskins.  Interesting enough the ground feeding Juncos will also visit the feeder as do the downy woodpeckers.  We have had a new nuthatch visitor, a white breasted nuthatch.

Evening sky

This evening the sun painted the cloud yellow which then mellowed to a coral orange.  The lovely yellow light reflected off the white breast feather of a threesome of feeding chickadees.

The golden leaves of the riverside cottonwoods and box elders are now dropping.  The brush oaks on the mountainside are also falling.  A weather change is due at the end of the week.

Autumn colors

This year the orange and red Maples dropped their leaves early.  We are now seeing the oak brush changing to yellows as well as the Cottonwoods and  Box Elde tree along the river.

Thunder, lightening, rain!

Summer has sped by.  Tomorrow is Labor Day.  The squirrels are preparing for winter.  Collecting sunflower seeds, acorns and other food stock.  The fact that they  visit our yard,drive Mollie crazy.  She is territorial, this is her yard.  She watches from the window, giving an occasional low growl.  When you let her our she rushes after the squirrel, who take off up the closest tree.  Most often the reach an upper branch, turn a scold Mollie, as the squirrels are also territorial.

The Scent of Lilacs

Purple ... White flowers
Flavor the slightest Spring breeze.
The scent of lilacs.

The scent of lilac reminds me of my grandmother.   It is her scent.  The money she gave us as children was always ironed then scented with lilac.  Lilac bushes filled her backyard.

My sister buried the end of my neice's umbilical cord in Zuni tradition under a French lilac bush, as  a subsitute for a Zuni hearth.  My dear friend, Rebecca is Zuni,  so she shared this tradition with us.

Tonight, Mollie and I enjoyed the beauty of the purple and white flower clusters as well as the scent of lilacs.

In the Mirror

Earlier today, I watched an Internet ad for Dove soap.  It showed women looking in the mirror to fix their makeup,etc.  It then asked the question "when was the last time you smiled back?" The next frame showed a number of young girls.
This made me laugh and think.  I often smile at myself or make a face when I look in the mirror.  I invite you to do the same.  It is a great way to start your day, a smile or a laugh can stay with you all day.

Spring Green

The steel gray sky heralds an approaching storm and intensifies the spring green new leaves.

Eastering

On Saturday, we celebrated Easter with the family tradition of Eastering.  My grandfather originally created this as a way for family members to all come together, to enjoy the arrival of Spring by getting outside for a hike and a potluck with hot dogs and marsh mellows cooked over a camp fire.  The Easter bunny was also invited.  He/She filled the children's basket will all types of treats and then the sneaky bunny hid them (mine was often up a tree).  As children we were allowed to invite friends to go Eastering with us, and as we have grown older,  the  cousin's families have gotten so big that each now holds their own Eastering outing at which friends with their families are invited.

Saturday was a perfect day, with good food, a warm hike and for the boys- baskets filled with toys and treats.

I hope that your Easter was lovely filled with family traditions.